The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1887-04-16


Of nomineeism, and the establishment
OF representative institutions and re-
sponsible government. New South
Wales, from 1913 to 1855. and the rest of
Australia from 1851 to the latter date,
like Ireland Of to-day, we're engaged in
an agitation for Home Rule More
fortunate than Ireland, their efforts
were looked upon favorably by their
fellow subjects in the British Isles, and
the struggle was finished IN 1861, by
the passage Of bills through the lmper-
iaI Parliament, which conferred COM
plete self government upon all the Aus
tralian colonies except Queensland.
which did not enjoy a separate exis
tence till a year or two afterwards.
The distinction between ordinary and
territorial revenue had been abandoned
years before by the dispatch of the
Duke of Newcastle, then secretary of
state for the colonies. In all the dis
c,tssions which took place during the
long conflict which resulted in the VIC
tory Of the Australians, Irishmen took
leading part on both sides Of the ques-
tion. In New South Wales, Mr..
Plunket, the genial and popular attor-
ney-g general of the day, met with a foe
man worthy Of his steel in the late Sir
James, then Mr.. Martin, while the con-
tests in Victoria between Mr.. Attorney
General Stawell. now Lieutenant-Gov-
ernor Sir William Stawell, and the late
Sir John, then Mr.. O'shanassy, were
like the combats of the giants. The
people of Australia, now that self-gov
eminent was conferred upon them, had
leisure to devote their attention to
their own local affairs. The first cues.
sion which pressed for solution was the
mode Of dealing with the crown lands,
that magnificent heritage which had
been conferred upon the people by the
Duke of Newcastle. The great sheep
and cattle farmers-squatters, as they
were locally terlned-were in possession
of these crown lands, and the newly-ar-
rived emigrants were anxious to occupy
and cultivate them. It was the old
struggle between those who have and
those who wanted. A long agitation
followed. Victoria, in which, owing to
the recent discovery of gold, the new
.colonist element was stronger than
with any Of her neighbors, was In the
van of the movement for 'sfree selec-
tion," and q national convention WAS
founded, principally through the instru-
mentality OF the late Wilson Gray,
brother Of your late editor, Sir John
Gray. The views of both parties were
somewhat extreme; but after several
years of agitation and a considerable
amount of tentative and unsuccessful
legislation. for those who were in pos
session were not willing to give place
to those who were outside the pale, the
first great blow at the squattlng mo-
nopoly was struck at Sydney by the
land bill of 1850, and in Victoria by the
land bill OF 1862, introduced by the pre-
sent Sir Charles Gavan Duffy, under the
leadership of Sir John O'Shanassy.
Other statesmen of all nat1onalities fol-
lowed, until the earth hunger, which
had been chronic throughout all Aus
tralia, was legitimately appeased. I
have only touched upon the two great
questions upon which for many years
the attention of all Australian states
men were concentrated. There we're
others of scarcely less importance, such
as civil and religious equality, national
education, local self-government, the
construction of railroads and roads and
the introduction of capital for public
works by raising loans in the London
money market. In all these questions the
Irish statesmen bore their fair share of
the heat and burden of the day. shall
now come to brief account of the
statesmen themselves. You may not
always approve of their acts OF agree
with their opinions, but it would be diff
fcult to deny their ability, their integ-
rity, their eloquence and their zeal. L
think that even the short description
which shall be able to give of the his
tory of the Irish party in Australia will
show that if it be obnoxious to any
change, it is that of being as a whole
far too conservative. ANY dread of a
possible alliance between the Irish and
the party Of revolution, whether it's
members be red republicans, socialists,
or intransigeants, is tolerably we'll dis
proved by the history of Irish states
men and Irish politicians in Australia
from the days of the first Irishman who
took part in the struggle for representa-
tive institutions down to those of Sir
Patrick Jennings.
W1sCoNs1N's new school law gives
women the right to vote at school
elections. This is step in the right
direction.
JUDGING by the number of epithets
that have been lavished on Mr.. Balfour
thus far, says the Boston Republic, he
will have accomplished at least one re-